Improvement in horse-rakes



@uiten ftatrs ilstrn @giften Letters Patent No. 79,284, dated June 213,'1868.

IMPROVEMENT IN HORSE-RAKES.

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'ro WHOM I'r MAY ooNonRN:

Be it known that I, FRANK-WICKS, of Upper Sandusky, in the county ofWyandot, andStateof Ohio, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Hay-Gatherers and I hereby declare that the following isa full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had tothe accompanying drawings, and to the figures of reference markedthereon, making part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a.side elevation.

Figure 2, a top view.

Figure 3, a vertical section, showing the method of attaching thehandles; andl Figure 4 is a sjection showing the method of attaching thetcetlrto the cross-bar.

The nature and object of myinvention are tocon-struct allay-gatherer,simple inform and construction, and easy andpractical in its operation.i l f Toenable others sliilled in the art to make anduse my invention, Iwill proceed to describe its construc-A tion and operation.

` Similar letters of reference refer to the same parts in the differentdrawings.

E is a runner, of which there are two.

D D are the runner-rails.

A is the tongue. n

G- is a post, extending from the runner to the rail, and located at ornear the point where the ruimer begins to turirupwardf4 It is alsolocated back of the -front point of the teeth, making the front end ofthe teeth come in advance ofthe posts as the machine is drawn over theground.

F isan iron shoe, placed on the bottom'of the runner, atthe-pointlwl1ere it begins to turn upwards, and extending a sufficientdistancel each'way to accomplish lthe object desired, which is toprevent the wearing of the runner at this point as it is drawn over theground.

'I is a cross-bar, extending from the lieel of one runner to the other.To this cross-bar, I, are attached the teeth I? P.

6 b is a cross-bar from the front end of one runner to the front end ofthe other,.andto which is attached the tongue'A.

d LZ are braces, extending from the tongue to the cross-bar b. l

c 7c are the handles, attached to the cross-bar I, to which they areattached by means of'twp straps of iron, one of which extends from theupper side, and the other from .the lower side of the handle. \Aroundthe crossbar I, near one end of the strip of iron passing over the uppersidevof the handle, is a hole, through which the lower end of the otherstrip of iron passes, and terminates in a screw, on which is placed anut, as shown at a, iig. 3. The handles 7c 7c are cut, so as to t twosides of the cross-bar I, as shown at iig. 3.

S S S are cross-rounds, extending from one handle to the other.

O and N are iron braces, fastened to the cross-bar Land extending to thehandles lc, they pass through the handles c 7c. On the end passingthrough the handles is a screw, on which is placed'a nut, t.

' The cross-bar b b is fastened to the front end of: the runners bymaking a half-socket in the front ends of the rails D D, in which are'placed the ends of the cross-bar, and over each end is placed an ironcap; this cap is then fastened to the rail by means of belts and nuts.

'lhe operation of this invention is as follows: The team is attached tothe tongue A, which draws the gattierer over theground, and the teethgather the hay, and when sufficient is gathered, the operator, havinghold of the upper round S, lifts up the Yheel of the gatherer a little;`this act catches the point-s of the teeth in the ground, when thesystem of teeth and handles is turned over, and thus the gathered hay isdeposited. The teeth and handles are brought back to their properposition bythe dogs 'l on the handles (iig. 3) catching in the groundand again turning them over. d l Y By placing the post G baclr of the`front end of the teeth, the'bend of the vrunner is carried back of thefront end of the teeth, the heel ofthe gatherer is caused to be slightlyelevated, sufficientlyv to permit the front ends of the teeth 'to'hugthe ground by the act of drawing the gatherer'overthe groundth`usgathering all the hay, and relieving the operator of the necessity oflifting by main strength the heel of the gatherer' to accomplishthissame result.

By fastening the handles to the cross-har I in the manner described,'Iam 'able to keep the' handles snugly fitted to the cross-bar, bytightening the cross-nut a. l

By fastening the ends of the braces O and N to the handles by means of anut and a screw, I can always keep thehandles in proper position by4tightening up the nuts.

By using the caps C C-over the ends of theoross-har b b, in fastening itto the rails D D, I am enabled tovuse a much smaller rail than Iotherwise could. The joints at the ends of the two cross-bars are madefiexible, so as to allow the runners to conform to the inequalities ofthe surface.

Hoving thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure byLetters Patent, is- '1. The runners E E, constructedsubstantially as described, with thezcurved part extending from 'thefront extremity' to the rear of the line of the points of the teeth P P,for the purpose set forth.

2. Locating the postV G, or its equivalent, back of the points .of theteeth P P, substantially in the mannen and for the purpose specified.

3. The construction and arrangement of the rods or braces N O, with thehandles'and cross-bar I, and nuts t t, for the purpose of bracing thehandles to the crossbar I, substantially in the manner described.

FRANK WICKS. Witnesses:

R. M. KLLY, J. S. BoUG'HToN.

